Belated Congrats to the 34 Florida Qualifiers to LPGA Q-School

A lot's been going on at this end, what with buying/selling houses and all that, so I'm a little late in congratulating the 34 players who made it into the final qualifying tournament of LPGA Q-School from the Florida sectional qualifier.

I've got to admit I never saw Lucy Nunn as medalist, anticipated such strong showings from Thailand's Thidapa Suwannapura, Plai Kongkraphan, or Tanaporn Kongkiatkrai, or imagined that Stephanie Na, Charlotte Mayorkas, Emma Cabrera-Bello, or Candace Schepperle would find themselves on the wrong side of the cut line, but that's golf. I think Lee-Anne Pace and Becky Brewerton will be among the favorites at the Final Qualifying Tournament--if, that is, they don't play the LET's season-ending Dubai event instead--and am hoping that Mollie Fankhauser, Briana Vega, and Kimberly Kim bring their A-games to Daytona Beach in early December.

I'm particularly psyched that Japanese pros Junko Nakada and Yukari Nishiyama are moving on. Nakada, who won't turn 21 for about a month, made it to the semifinals of the '09 Japan Women's Amateur before losing to eventual champion and breakout JLPGA star Asako Fujimoto, so you know she's got game (although the rest of her junior and amateur career hasn't been quite as successful). 28-year-old Nishiyama made the cut at the '09 Japan Women's Open, but hasn't has notable success otherwise, and even then finished in a tie for last place. Still, finishing 70-69 after starting 74-80 shows a lot of mental toughness. Their odds in early December are certainly better than Shayna Miyajima's, who just squeaked in on the right side of the cut line.

So now we know the 79 or so players who will be competing at Daytona Beach in just over 2 months. I don't expect anyone inside the top 100 on the LPGA money list this season to join them.